It’s no secret that interest in media phones is on the rise thanks to hot applications like videoconferencing, higher-quality voice technology and improved interfaces.  

 

But although IP phone makers say they’re seeing a growing interest in their wares, the cost of IP phones still hasn’t come down enough to encourage mass adoption, said April Huang, a spokeswoman with Yealink (News - Alert).

 

The Chinese IP phone maker  recently won a “Best of Show” award at the IT EXPO West show, held Sept. 1-3 in Los Angeles. Still, although its high-definition IP media phones are getting more attention this year, Huang said the global market is slower than expected because some IP phones cost almost as much as laptops.

 

One way the company is trying to differentiate itself is by striving to meet customers halfway by offering lower-priced IP phones, said Huang, adding that Yealink is planning to release a seven-inch touchscreen video phone next quarter.

 

“We have the proprietary technology, and can provide the world class product, especially the voice qualities, at reasonable and affordable prices,” Huang told TMCnet. “Service is also excellent.”

 

The company’s desktop phones, which are equipped with the TI TITAN chipset and TI voice engine, offer high-definition voice, a broad range of voice codecs, security protection for privacy and rich features.

 

 Recently, market research firm InStat said it predicted that consumer media phones will generate between $4 billion and $8 billion in annual revenue worldwide by 2013. Additionally, InStat predicts that business media phones will generate $3.3 billion in annual revenue worldwide in 2013.

 

“Video phone is still in its early days,” Huang told TMCnet. “But its rich features and great advantages are already being seen by the market.”